The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 259

Ver. 7 (first clause).-" What shall the harvest be,• In Scripture" the wind" ls an em blern of vanity or folly, and "the whirlwind" of sudden a.nd unexpected destruc- tion. Here the latter is declared to be the product of the former. As a· gentle " wind " may be the precursor of the "whirlwind," so the foolish policy of Israel would be followed by resistless disast.er. By a change of figure in the following clause, Hosea announces that plans which at first seemed successful would bring no ultimate advan- tage. The clause ma)' be thus paraphrased : "That which is sown produces no stalk, or even if it does the stalk will yield no grain; or if so be it does yield any, foreign armies shall swallow it up." The principle which underlies this teaching is sufficiently evident in the first clause, the consideration of which suggests the following truths :-. I. THAT :ME~ SHALL REAP AS THEY HAVE SOWN IS A DIVINE AND UNIVERSAL LAW; 1. This law is seen in nature. Sow wheat, e.nd without further anxiety you are COil-' fident that you will reap wheat, and not something else. And not in kind only, but in quantity, whether abundantly or sparsely, you will reap as you sowed, The child is surprised to see his own name appear written in living green; but he who sowed the seed in that form sees in it only what is natural and wuaL 2. This law asserts itself in social life. If a nation allows its children to be brought up without regard· to the sanctities of life, it finds its retribution in crowded jails and asylums, in political' insecurity, in death-bringing pestilence, etc. Having sown the wind. it reaps the whirl_;; wind. So is it with the methods adopted by despotic tyranny. History shows how often repressive measures, excessive and uncertain punishments, etc., have culminated, in the whirlwind of revolution which has overwhelmed and wrecked orderly society; 3. This law i,s visible in the culture of the mind and the occupations of life, Contrast the destiny of the indolent shifty schoolboy with that of the steady student whq yearly grows in intellectual cape.city. 4. This law never fails in the moral and religiou~ sphere. Suppose a man resolves to do that which will pay, in a financial sense. He cieliberately abjures righteousness for expediency, resolving at all costs to win wealth. He does win it. He reapB according to the seed he bas sown, but it is no wonder if ln' his moral being he is "given over to a reprobate mind." On the other hand, the religious man gives up ·a profitable practice because he believes it to be immoral. The result is that he fails to reap riches because he has not sown for them, but he does reap the bliss of having a conscience void of offence towar.ds God and towards men. II. THAT Tms LAW SOMETIMES ASSERTS ITSELF IN THE SAD EXPERIENCE OF SINNERS EVEl1 IN THIS PRESENT LIFE. "Even as I have seen, they that plough iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same" (Job iv. 8). Retribution often comes (as it came to Israel) throu~h the sin that at first brought nothing but success. 'l'he notorious life of James Fisk, of New York, was a remarkable illustration of the decla.ration," The wicked shall fall by their own wickedness." 1. Ezamples fr(jm Scripture. (1) Haman plotted against Mordecai to his own destruction. His was the vaulting ambition that over- leaps itself. (2) Daniel;6foea were themselves cast into the lion's den. (3) The men of Babel resolved to defy God _by the power of so~ial combination; but their sche:'10 was the means of their scattenng. (4) The Pharisees found that the cross to which they triumphantly nailed our Lord was at once the means of their confusion and of his victory over the world. 2. Ezamples from experience. Pope Alexander VI. tried to poison his friend Cardinal Adrian. Through the mistake of his cupbearer he himself died by the cup which was meant to destroy another. The Regent Morton was mt. VlII, l'-14.] THE BOOK OF HOSEA.